On Monday, October 12, 2026, Abdulkadir Basari completed his 120-hour non-stop sewing marathon at Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria in Kano.
This was Basari’s attempt at the Guinness World Records (GWR) for the longest sewing marathon by an individual. He sat down sewing school uniforms for less-privileged children with a sewing machine, continuously for five days and nights.
The Guinness World Records team has not yet confirmed official recognition. However, the loudest conversation that followed Abdulkadir Basari’s attempt is disappointment. 
“Why is Arewa so silent?”
In an X post that quickly gained traction, @Cool_Ustaz wrote:
“When Hilda Baci stood for days to put Nigeria on the world map, the entire South stood still, cheered her on, and carried her to victory on the wings of massive support.
Today, our very own brother from the North… Why is Arewa so silent? We must learn to celebrate and lift our own champions.”
When Hilda Baci stood for days in the kitchen, support flooded social media. Celebrities and ordinary people showed up and made noise.
Many Northern voices are openly calling out the region’s tendency to under-celebrate its own champions until outsiders do it first.
“Supporting Abdulkadir Basari Is Not a Priority”
The reactions that followed revealed a lot of underlying factors that might have limited the support from northerners. Many defended the silence by pointing to more pressing issues.
Some users on X pushed back, arguing that there were far more urgent issues demanding attention. One user, @ozovehedotsui, wrote that people were “more concerned about our brothers and sisters who were kidnapped.”
Another user, @cam3_1, was more dismissive, saying there were “far more important things to worry about.” In their view, insecurity and captivity of families should come first, and celebrating a tailor’s endurance challenge felt like a misplaced priority.
Others took a more critical look at Northern social media culture itself.
He pointed out how some had previously launched initiatives like an “Arewa tech hub” that produced little tangible result. This suggests that some have a pattern of clout-chasing rather than sustained support for genuine achievements.
@Liminal_Sonnet additionally noted that Arewa Twitter tends to prioritise certain cultural or entertainment topics while remaining quiet on something as “unfamiliar” as a long-duration sewing record attempt.
There was also honest self-reflection from within the region. A user, @Maymounatou2, herself a Northern tailor, admitted that many Northerners had actively supported Hilda Baci. When her challenge was trending, they posted, reposted, and helped push the hashtags. Yet when it came to Basari, a significant number of people only became aware of his effort days after he had already started.
She placed part of the blame on the university’s limited promotion and the rest on what she called Northern negligence.
Abdulkadir Basari has completed the 120-hour GWR attempt to sew thousands of school uniforms, though the exact number has yet to be officially confirmed. Guinness World Records will now examine the evidence and decide whether to recognise a new record.
About The Author
